Q: 323 ? Title: Can we ask Allah directly for our needs or do we need to make intercession through a pious person?

Question

I have come across this mentality amongst the Ummah that we cannot ask Allah (SWT) directly for anything; we need to go through ?channels? e.g. Allah (SWT) is the president, Rasulallah (SAW) is the prime minister and the Awliyas (AS) are the head of states. We need to go through these channels in order for our duas to get accepted / answered.

I know there are verses in the Quraan where Allah (SWT) states that ?Ask of me and I will give?. Please can you quote me such verses with their location? Are there any Hadith of Bukhari Shareef that refers to this topic?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-sal?mu ?alaykum wa-rahmatull?hi wa-barak?tuh.

A person can supplicate directly to Allah Ta??la without any intermediary and without the intercession of anyone. Allah Ta?ala says:

?And when my servants ask you about Me, of course, I am near. I respond to the call of one when

he prays to Me; so they should respond to Me and have faith in Me so that they may be on the right path.?

(Quran, 2:186)

A person can also adopt tawassul (means) in making make du?. The means could be through one of the names or attributes of Allah, it could be a righteous deed one has done, or through a pious person, whether he is alive or has passed away as long is it not done in an impermissible way.

Whenever drought threatened them, 'Umar bin Al-Khattab, used to ask Al-Abbas bin 'Abdul Muttalib to invoke Allah for rain. He used to say, "O Allah! We used to ask our Prophet to invoke You for rain, and You would bless us with rain, and now we ask his uncle to invoke You for rain. O Allah ! Bless us with rain."

So it would rain.

In the time of Rasulullah (salallahu alayhi wa sallam), a blind person came and requested Rasulullah (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) to make du? to cure him. Rasulullah (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) asked him to make wud? and then make the following du? [1][vi]:

'Oh Allah, verily, I ask of you and I turn to you through your Prophet, Muhammad, the Prophet of mercy,? (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam), verily, I have turned to my Lord through you (Muhammad) so that my need be fulfilled. Oh Allah, accept his intercession on my behalf.'

It is clear from the above references of Quran and Ahad?th that tawassul is permissible. However in doing tawassul, it is important that one is making du??? to Allah and no one else.

The waseela, a good deed or pious person is a means to attract Allah?s mercy. One is not making dua to the pious person.

It is not like calling a prime-minister to reach the president. In dua we reach Allah directly and merely refer to the good deed or a pious as a means to invoke Allah?s mercy.